Analysis and Features

The Indian civil aviation regulator, Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), has issued a directive which effectively grounds several Airbus A320neo aircraft of IndiGo and Go Airlines. The directive is the latest development resulting from last month’s emergency airworthiness directive (EAD) issued by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) which affects the Airbus A320neo and A321neo powered by the Pratt …

News reports indicate India’s largest domestic airline, Indigo, is in talks with European airframer Airbus, to procure upto 50 A330neo (new engine option) long-haul wide-body aircraft. These aircraft is for Indigo’s much awaited foray into international flying where they are hoping to introduce the low-cost long-haul model. This represents another step in the airline’s strategy towards expanding the airline and …

In the weeks leading upto the Emirates A380 order there was much speculation on the future of the A380 program and if this glorious aircraft would continue to be produced. As the largest operator of the fleet type Emirates was central to the debate. Things came to a pass when at the Dubai Airshow Emirates ordered 40 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners …

India’s largest domestic carrier, IndiGo, reported its third quarter results of the fiscal year 2017-2018 (Q3FY18) last week. The third quarter is the strongest of the fiscal year, and it was a yet another strong result coming on the back of a previously strong quarter. IndiGo Q3FY18 results snapshot with percentage comparisons to Q3FY17 • Revenues ₹6,449 crores (₹64.49 billion) …

by Poonam Verma and Apoorva Saxena Foreign pilots have enjoyed the privilege to fly steel birds in India for a long time. This, to a great extent, hampered opportunities available to Indian trained pilots. This treatment of foreign pilots in India is not being reciprocated to Indian pilots by foreign jurisdictions. This article throws some light on the opportunities and …

In a bid to attract more bids, the Union Cabinet of the Government of India, has allowed up to 49% Foreign Direct Investment in the national carrier Air India which is up for disinvestment. In a release the Government said “It has now been decided to do away with this restriction and allow foreign airlines to invest up to 49% …

Three of India’s low-cost carriers, IndiGo, AirAsia India, and Spicejet feature in the OAG’s Punctuality League 2018 as India’s most punctual airlines. Chennai, Hyderabad, and New Delhi airports also feature in the annual report of airlines and airports with the best on-time performance (OTP) in the world. The best of the best As per the Punctuality League 2018, the most …

Data from the world’s leading provider of digital flight information OAG Aviation Worldwide Ltd, appears to contradict the On-Time Performance (OTP) as reported by the country’s regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). OAG which used to be the Official Airline Guide and handles more than 35 million dynamic flight status updates per day shows national leader IndiGo ranked …

In 2006-07, Mumbai and New Delhi airports were awarded to M/s GMR and GVK and entered an era of private airport management. In the mean time, private public partnership greenfield airports were in progress at Kochi, Hyderabad, and Bangalore. Passengers across the nation waited with anticipation to finally be free of the poor service standards of the Airports Authority of …

After being rebuffed in its attempt to buy a stake in US carrier and fellow oneworld member, American Airlines Group, national carrier Qatar Airways Q.C.S.C. has bought a 9.61% stake in another fellow oneworld carrier Cathay Pacific Airways Limited. Qatar Airways bought 378,188,000 shares of Cathay Pacific from Kingboard Chemical Holdings and its allied companies for HK$5.2 billion (approximately US$662 …

In a shocking development, just come to light, it appears that Indian Air Traffic Control (ATC) ignored the repeated MAYDAY calls by an Air Canada flight and endangered the lives of 191 passenger and crew on the night of September 19th. Readers of Bangalore Aviation know how I despise the histrionic headlines found in mainstream media, but this case merits …

Jet Airways reported results for the first quarter (Q1) of the fiscal year 2017-18 (FY2018 or FY18) yesterday. The results were a mixed bag and showed both areas of improvement and concern. Bangalore Aviation presents an analysis by an external industry professional as the editor of the site owns shares in the airline. The external analyst prefers to remain anonymous. …

An analysis by Bangalore Aviation of a report by website Routesonline shows New Delhi Bangalore is the lowest cost route among the world’s ‘Top 20’ busiest routes for July 2017. Delhi Bangalore most economical The New Delhi Bengaluru route cost an average base fare of ₹4,830 (approx $75.31) or ₹2.84 per kilometre for the 1,703 kilometre distance between the two …

The Ministry of Civil Aviation recently announced revisions to the Regional Connectivity Scheme better known as UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik). The revisions and other industry developments show that the scheme has failed to takeoff. This is also reflects the hurried way in which the scheme was put out and the lack of consensus building and consultation. As a …

A report in the Aviation Network News and Analysis site (ANNA), shows India’s IndiGo as the largest single low cost carrier in Asia. Using data sourced from the Official Airline Guide, ANNA reports, IndiGo grew 14.4% compared to last year, to 35.11 million departing seats in the Summer 2017 schedule. It jumped ahead of Indonesia’s Lion Air which grew 8.8% …

Spicejet’s results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2017-18 were a mixed bag, and we find several items of concern. Bangalore Aviation presents an analysis of the numbers: Results snapshot (all figures in Indian Rupees) Revenues 2,068 crores Costs 1,714 crores EBITDAR 479 crores Profit before tax 177 crores Profit after tax 178 crores Revenue per available seat kilometre …

India’s largest domestic carrier, IndiGo, reported its first quarter results of the fiscal year 2017-2018 (Q1FY18) yesterday. It was a strong result but perhaps what was different this time, were details on its fleet, international expansion plans and strategic direction, the airline shared. Bangalore Aviation is the first to report on and analyse these comprehensive issues. IndiGo Q1FY18 results snapshot …

Indigo’s analyst call on 6th July was scheduled to allay investor concerns about the new direction the airline was taking after submitting the unsolicited bid for Air India. One of the founders admitted, that without numbers, it was like “going to a corporate board meeting in a swim suit” and we wholeheartedly agree. If anything it added to the confusion …